There have been rumours about Crysencio Summerville's future at Elland Road circulating, with the Dutchman said to be seeking more consistent first-team football, similar to Cody Drameh, who left to go on loan to Cardiff City earlier this month.
According to reports in Germany, Summerville is a target for Hamburg. The German side are said to be interested in signing him permanently but would initially seek a loan. There have also been rumours linking the teenager to a move to Scotland, with both Hibernian and Rangers mentioned as teams interested in the 20-year-old.
It's important to note that these are just reports at the moment but should a loan be arranged for the winger, fans will surely ask whether it might spell the end of his time at Elland Road.
This is due to a precedent which has been set during Marcelo Bielsa's tenure at the club. Ever since the Argentine arrived at Leeds, no player who has left on loan has managed to re-establish themselves in the first-team picture. Mateusz Klich did manage to impress and become a key member of the first-team after returning from a loan, however he was loaned before Bielsa arrived.
Players like Alfie McCalmont, Mateusz Bogusz, Robbie Gotts and Ryan Edmondson were once highly rated at Thorp Arch but as soon as they had their first loans away from the club, they seem to have fallen from any kind of consideration about their ability to be integrated into the first-team squad during pre-season.
However, in those cases, it is perhaps due to the fact that they were highly rated prospects during Leeds' time as a Championship club. Now that they are in the Premier League, the quality level required to break into first-team squads is significantly higher.
When Ian Poveda moved to Blakcburn on loan this season, Leeds' Director of Football Victor Orta was careful to mention that they hoped he would return to the club to have an impact. This showed that it's not necessarily a policy that if a player goes on loan they are finished at Leeds.
"We hope Ian can get some game time and come back to us next season ready to fight," the Spaniard told the club's official website.
In the case of Summerville and Drameh, if they can have impressive loan spells at good levels of senior football, they may keep themselves in the plans for next season and beyond, rather than find themselves replaced by new signings or by the next youth player on the conveyor belt.
It remains to be seen whether that's the players' own intentions though, as Drameh left seeking regular football and the rumours suggest that's the motivation behind Summerville pursuing a move away from Elland Road. The Dutchman has played five times in the Premier League this season but has only totalled 118 minutes of action in those appearances.
Should they impress on their loans, they may seek moves to somewhere they can play as a first choice next season, rather than returning to be down the pecking order at Leeds.
That being said, teams like Brighton have shown that players can have an impact in the Premier League after loans, as a number of their players have gained senior experience elsewhere before breaking through for the Seagulls.
If Leeds want to continue their plan to recruit high quality young players, they will need to find a way to continue to give those players more serious senior playing time - sometimes away from Elland Road if needed - whilst not losing some of their best prospects in the long term.
Summerville and Drameh may not have made waves in the Premier League in their first tastes of the competition but they may go on to become good players at the level. Leeds may need to show a little more patience to find out if that's the case.
